Judging from the squillions of comments and tweets and such, a lot of you agree that corporate and professional aren’t the same thing. Many of us don’t want to be corporate… but all of us want to be professional.
photo credit: ginnerobot
Most people who flee into corporate-style (even when it’s not a great fit for them) do so because “suit and tie” has long been a handy shorthand for “I’m professional, take me seriously and give me money/respect now please.”
Fortunately for us, there are other ways. (Hooray, no beige!)
Remember, professionalism is all about trust: you being able to trust me to deliver a quality product or service.
Front and centre: the About Us page
The purpose of the About Us page is trust, too. Remember, on the internet you are faceless and anonymous and there are lots of unethical scumbags who use that anonymity to rip people off. To make it clear that you aren’t one of those people, you have to do two things:
- prove you’re a real person
- prove you know your business
Have a quick look at our About Us page. It’s not perfect – other than adding a teeny welcome video I haven’t touched it since we started the website. But it does do a couple of important things:
- It shows our faces.
- It gives you a quick idea of who we are.
- It includes some of our qualifications.
Clearly, we are real people. Real people who know quite a bit about websites. If you’re new, that’s what you want to know most about us.
A while back I wrote a quick guide on how to update your About Us page. And I’ve written a note for myself to add the stuff we don’t have yet. (Oops.)
Call me: the Contact Us page
Another great way to prove you’re real and trustworthy is to be reachable. Update your Contact Us page to include as many possible methods as you are comfortable with.
If you’re wondering, my mobile number has been on our Contact Us page since the first day. No, no-one has ever called it. But they could, if they wanted to.
Testimonials
Collect every glowing reference to your skills. Ask if you can publish them. And then make them really really obvious. (I use the Testimonials Manager plugin. It’s kick-ass.)
Lookin gooood…
You don’t gotta spend a thousand dollars, but your website should have a few basic features:
- Your own domain name and email address (no sexylegs53@yahoo)
- A theme that’s pleasing and appropriate for your Right People
- Minimal clutter
- No blinking belly-fat ads
Also, spellcheck. Use high-quality images. Fix broken links. Those things matter, or more specifically their absence matters. Like a good soundtrack, most of this should be invisible to your visitors; they’ll only notice if something is wrong.
Keep showing up
Six months of daily posts, and I have a reputation as reliable. Who knew? Two things are involved here:
- Consistent regular reliable activity…
- …that is publically visible.
Spending a lot of time in a private forum will get you a positive reputation in that forum, but won’t give anyone else any idea that you’re a stand-up gal or guy. You gotta keep turning up in public. That includes posting, commenting, tweeting, being interviewed, and guest posting. Being there. Getting known. Proving in a hundred small ways that you’re cool.
And use the same name and photo at each place!
Take your products seriously
You have to respect your time and skills and price them accordingly if you want us to do the same. Describe and price confidently. Again, use excellent pictures for anything that needs one.
(That’s what professionals do.)
Do you have any other tips on how to look professional without being corporate? tell me in the comments!